Saturday, December 12, 2009

I've seen different stories on this posted in several places in the last few days. Here's the best source piece from Payvand blog

Payvand.com was established in San Francisco Bay Area in late 1995 and is dedicated to Iranian-American issues. Payvand in Persian means joining together, and has recently been used to mean “web link” * as well.Our mission is to create a site that brings Iranians around the globe and those interested in Iran together around related issues. We hope we open a window into Iran through which we can promote understanding, dialogue and peace.

Anti-government activists are not allowed to express themselves in Iranian media, so theses activists have taken their expressions to another high circulation mass-medium, banknotes. The Central Bank of Iran has tried to take these banknotes out of circulation, but there are just too many of them, and gave up. For the activists’ people it’s a way of saying “We are here, and the green movement is going on”.

Following are examples of such banknotes, mostly written in green ink:

3- A re-write of a saying on the left side (Iranian people will find “knowledge’ no matter where – Prophet Muhammad) – Iranian people will find “justice” no matter where.

4- They stole oil money and give it to Chavez

5- Khamenei the non-believer is servant of Putin

6- Based on a kid’s poem – How is Iran doing? It’s full of sorrow, its oil is gone, took its gas to India, got China’s garbage, everything is imported, exports are forgotten, close down all local productions.

7- Cheater Khamenei and power-hungry Ahmadinejad

8- People’s enemy

9- Long live freedom

10- Don’t believe what a government says if that government is the only entity that has the right of expression. (by Ali Shariati, called ideologue of 1979 Iranian Revolution)

11- Top: Neda’s photo followed by death to dictator slogan.Bottom: Logo of state media Voice and Vision of Islamic Republic with added swastika followed by “humiliated by our Voice and Vision”

12- Top: Death to Khamenei is crossed out/coloredBottom: Shame can not be erased by crossing out/coloring

13- Blast from the past- A banknote from Shah’s administration is stamped by Islamic Republic to cover shah’s face.